MNI Global Week Ahead November 9 - 13

Key Things to Watch:

• Wednesday, November 11 – Reserve Bank of New Zealand Policy Decision
  • The Reserve Bank of New Zealand meets Wednesday and is expected to leave its Official Cash Rate unchanged at a record low 0.25%, holding back from a move towards negative rates.
• The bank said in March that the OCR would remain at 0.25% for "at least a year" and has asked commercial banks to be ready for negative rates by the end of 2020, with many expecting a move to negative rates coming then.
• The RBNZ is likely to leave the level of quantitative easing unchanged but announce a funding for lending program (FLP), which could be as large as NZD50 billion or around 15% of GDP.

• Thursday, November 12 – U.S. CPI
  • Inflation likely held steady in October, with markets expecting CPI to increase 0.2% in October. That will mostly be driven by gasoline prices, which dropped only slightly through the month despite falling oil prices.
• Core CPI should also rise 0.2% following a 0.2% gain in September.

• Thursday, November 12 – U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims
  • U.S. weekly initial jobless claims filed through November 7 should reach 725,000 Thursday following a slight decrease to 751,000 through October 31.
• Weekly claims levels continue to suggest some improvement in the labor market, though still remain stubbornly high above pre-pandemic levels. Some labor market weakness may appear next week as new Covid-19 cases surge throughout the Midwest.